While there is, of course, no such thing as a bad time for drinking (Christenings maybe?), this month in particular seems to have aligned the stars for the city’s beer drinkers to provide ample opportunity for pint tipping.
Two notable events are happening this weekend and next at venues that will soon be ranked [Spoiler Alert] among the city’s 15 best bars for beer selection according to the readers of blogTO : barVolo and The Only Cafe.
At Volo is, of course, the 4th annual three-day tribute to hops that is the Cask IPA Challenge. The event will feature 26 brewers, all of whom have crafted a cask conditioned (unfiltered, aged and served in a cask and poured without CO2 or nitrogen) IPA and will square off tournament-style in blind tastings until there is only one brewer left standing–ostensibly on wobbly legs after three days of drinking Cask IPAs
The fun kicks off on Friday with an IPA Spinoff Challenge, showcasing some not-quite-IPA styles like Double IPAs and Black IPAs before the official tournament starts Saturday. Complete details including the list of participating brewers and the first round bracket can be found here.
Given that beer fans seem to have a huge beer boner for IPAs these days (owing probably in large part to the Cask IPA Challenge) this will likely be a well attended event, so I’d show up early. I will be.
And next weekend The Only Cafe will once again be hosting a mini-beer fest. As with the previous event, $1 will get you a five-ounce sample (yep, a buck) from brewers who will be on hand to peddle their wares at sample booths on the patio after 5pm on Friday and Saturday. The beers available read as a vertible who’s who from the local brewing scene:
April 27
Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co.
F&M Brewery
Railway City Brewing
St Ambroise Brewery
Double Trouble Brewing
Cameron’s Brewery
Amsterdam Brewery
Cheshire Valley Brewing
Mill Street Brewery
Creemore Springs Brewery
April 28
Steam Whistle Brewery
Wellington Brewery
Lake of Bays Brewery
Sawdust City Brewing
Keep6 Imports
Junction Craft Brewing
Great Lakes Brewery
King Brewery
Unibroue
Hogsback Brewing co.
And fine, if you can’t wait until the weekend to get your great beer on, you can probably (maybe) still get tickets for tonight’s Brewer’s Plate.
But really, it’s not that great. It’s just an annual spring feast of local, sustainable food and craft beer.
Whatever. Nothing special.
Nothing but a collection of some of the best local chefs pairing food with some of the best local beers. Yawn.
Pfft. Who wants to go to a veritable who’s who of the beer scene partying, drinking, and eating at Roy Thomson Hall with all the proceeds going to a charity that supports sustainable farming?
AAARGH! Best. Dinner. Ever. Why am I not going to this??
Sigh. If you’re among the lucky who don’t have inescapable alternative plans tonight, tickets are $125 and you can throw in a master tasting class for $75 more ($100 if you’re not doing tonight’s event). For more info on getting tickets (you really need to hurry, it’s tonight for god’s sake) you can go here.
I guess I’ll just wait to read all about the fun on every other beer blog in the entire universe.
Ben's Beer Blog 